German Hard-Left Faction
Moves Front and Center

Neo-Socialists' Rise
Could Cost Merkel
In Coming Elections

BERLIN -- Germany's neo-socialist party Die Linke, heir of East German Communism, is inching closer to power as politics shifts to the left in the European Union's most populous country.

Germany's traditional center-left party, the Social Democrats, failed in an effort last week to form a government in the key state of Hesse with support from Die Linke, which translates as "The Left." Hesse is home to Frankfurt, Germany's financial heart. A revolt within the Social Democrats scuttled the proposed alliance on Friday.